Farming Innovations, Trade and Economic Practices in Ancient Civilizations | Paper and Digital

Teach how farming innovations increased trade with led to settlements and cities in ancient civilizations. If the new Grade 5 Alberta social studies curriculum overwhelms you, stop searching because we've done everything for you.

COMING SOON! Save $$$ with a whole year of Alberta Grade 5 Social Studies!

This new social studies resource includes:

• how innovations in farming like animal labour and irrigation technology created food surpluses and allowed workers to specialize in new skills
• how increased trade led to settlements and cities in ancient civilizations
• farming innovations from Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Ancient India and Ancient Arab Civilizations
• trade routes of the Royal Road, Trans-Saharan and Silk Road
• how trade routes and geography are related (mountains, rivers, oceans)
• the social, political, economic and environmental impacts of trade
• the social, political, economic and environmental impacts of different technology innovations
• comparing trade routes
• economic practices: markets, banks, currency and taxes in ancient civilizations
• comparing economic practices in ancient civilizations to modern practices
• three detailed lesson plans with easy to read formatting.
• instructions for how to use our activities with or without technology so you can be flexible for your students and classroom environment.
• instructions for printing student workbooks while still offering differentiated options.
• a variety of activities that keep students engaged while learning.
• detailed outlines of each activity with a list of materials along with a centralized list and reminders in each section of the lesson plan.
• optional Teacher Slides to support instruction and content delivery. You can choose to teach with or without them.
• vocabulary list with phonetic pronunciations and definitions to help support your students.
• “I can” statements written in student-friendly language so students can self-assess their learning.
• simple quizzes and assessment activities to see what students have learned.
• modifications to help you differentiate without spending more of your time.
• answer keys and suggested answers.
• digital versions of most of the student pages to help support your students or reduce printing. To access the digital version, download the PDF and use the link inside that file.
• loose text in the digital version which can be read by your assistive technology. This is especially helpful since some of the text may be beyond the Grade 5 reading level (especially at the beginning of the school year).
• list of Alberta outcomes broken down by activity.
  

Ninja Note: If you teach in Alberta, this resource has been written for the new social studies curriculum. Learn more about how we're writing and adjusting resources for the new curriculum. https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/

This activity aligns with:

• the Alberta Social Studies Curriculum Grade 5 ©2025

This activity supports learning about:

• ancient civilizations
• trade
• farming innovations
• economic practices in ancient civilizations
  

Looking for more social studies for Alberta teachers? Our unit plans include extra vocabulary supports and assessments.

• Time and Place Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 5
• Systems Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 5 COMING SOON!
• Citizenship Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 5 COMING SOON!

COMING SOON! Save $$$ with the Full Year of Alberta Grade 5 Social Studies!

Ninja Note: To access the digital version, download the PDF and click on the access links in the file.

Have a question? Before contacting us, check our Frequently Asked Questions page.